Where to go on a honeymoon

With an unbeatable location at the high point of Ravello town, the candy floss pink Palazzo Avino has exhilarating views from its tiered gardens, featuring Juliet balconies over the Amalfi coast looking towards the distant islands where the mythological Sirens lured sailors with their song. With its elegant antique-filled, vaulted rooms, acclaimed restaurant and Lobster & Martini Bar – with the most extensive martini menu in Mezzogiorno – Palazzo Avino is possibly the most romantic hotel in town. It’s also the only hotel in the area that boasts its own beach club, where you can also hire a glamorous yacht and enjoy the Amalfi coast as it demands to be experienced: from a sundeck, weaving between the famous grottos of the stunning coastline.

Italy is a perennial favorite honeymooning destination. Le Sirenuse first opened its doors in 1951 and has blossomed from small, chic summer retreat of a noble Neopolitan family to the elegant jewel it is today – and remains a relevant, innovative treasure, despite the coachloads of tourists that descend on the town. The hotel offers charming extras to its residents, including custom-made soaps and shampoos by Eau D’Italie, cloth-bound literary classics and bedside coloring books. Sophisticated, cosmopolitan owners Carla and Antonio Sersale add a surprising new element to the hotel each year to ensure it remains a talking point, and the contemporary art collection is always being expanded. Le Sirenuse now also offers a biannual week-long health & wellness retreat called Dolce Vitality, which advantage of its fabulous location on the base of a mountain of trails. Honeymoon suites come with a complimentary expedition to outlying islands in the vintage Riva yacht or a special celebratory dinner in the La Sponda restaurant illuminated by the flickering light of 400 candles.

With its sweeping lawns and curving balustrades jutting onto the Atlantic seaboard, elegant, turn-of-the-century mansion Ellerman House feels like a throwback to a more glamorous and gracious era. There are live bands and a chic cocktail trolley at sunset offered compliments of the house; your laundry will be cleaned, pressed and returned, wrapped in tissue paper, free of charge; and everywhere you turn, there is another jewel of a painting to gaze upon from the owner Paul Harris’ extraordinary collection of African art. What’s more, Cape Town is a thrilling honeymoon destination not simply for its agreeable weather, but for its unique combination of culture, music and dramatic landscapes. Ellerman House can arrange weekend safaris, private tours of the best neighboring vineyards, a visit to the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art or yacht jaunts along the coast, so you can take full advantage of everything the country has to offer.

Since 1965, this icon of elegance and luxury on the rugged promontory of the Argentario has hosted summer family vacations, honeymoons and romantic assignations. While it has been constantly updated – the youngest family member, Marie-Louise Sciò, is now at the helm – the atmosphere remains defiantly old-school; all Tuscan terracotta, chintz and heirloom walnut antiques. Days are spent playing tennis or lounging beside the large pool or on the private bathing platform above the Tyrrhenian Sea, where you can enjoy lingering lunches – in the heat of the summer, a fine water spray cools diners as they eat.

Enjoying a peerless vantage point over Lake Como, the Grand Hotel Tremezzo is the honeymoon retreat of dreams with its most romantic suite, the ‘Maria’, enjoying top-floor views over the lake, complete with a Juliet balcony, a red porphyry bathtub and billowy four-poster. New this season, the fabulous baroque 16th century Villa Sola Cabiati in the hotel grounds offers not just an incredible wedding venue, but the possibility of a rarefied honeymoon escape with outdoor heated pool, full staff – including a boatman, boat and private dock (not to mention a restored riva) – plus the possibility of a vintage Alfa Romeo to explore the region’s high roads.

The all-white, pared-down aesthetic of this traditional phinisi with its crew of eight (including a masseur and wine master) and one huge guest suite (made for just two), makes it the ultimate love boat. Sailing the protected waters of the islands around Flores, which lies just beyond Bali, the crew of the Alexa will set up picnics on remote pink sand beaches, or make up your bed for you on the upper deck beneath the rigging and the shooting stars. When the sails are up, it’s like floating on a cloud.

If an immaculate, deserted beach constitutes your idea of blissful relaxation, then Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge on a remote sandy bay on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, at the edge of a vast 4,000-acre rainforest reserve, is a paradise. Nesting turtles come to lay their eggs in season, and there is horse riding along the sandy shoreline, kayaking and birdwatching in the adjoining riverine lagoon, or paddle boarding at low tide, all of which can be booked via Dominic Allan of Real Latin America. Massages are available in open-sided huts on the water’s edge, and all the villas and cottages have hanging daybeds strung onto their private decks to make the best of the ocean views.

The haunting beauty of Iceland makes for an unforgettable experience. Deplar Farm is a hideaway on the remote Troll Peninsula, where you can experience every kind of outdoor adventure, luxuriate in the midnight sun and enjoy the extreme comfort of the lodge. The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon offers a sanctuary to unwind from wedding stress surrounded by private, health-giving geothermal pools, and yoga and hiking on tap. Travel specialist Blue Marble Private can tailor-make a journey that links these highlights of Iceland to its neighbor, Greenland, by private jet for the ultimate adventure honeymoon.

It’s all about the view here, and Erosantorini hotel, built 1,000-ft above the wine-dark seas of the caldera on the highest part of the island, offers the most mind-expanding panorama of the surrounding Aegean. On this two-acre estate, there is enough space and privacy to escape the selfie-wielding crowds that surge through the narrow cobbled streets of Oia and Fira. With bespoke menus, a large infinity pool cascading over three levels with underwater music, an outdoor cinema, floating fireplaces and a private yacht, this is real luxury.